Thursday, December 31, 2009

Well maybe not a wonderland but the view from my back door this morning. The second snow of the year, roads are closed, traffic is a mess, even the Lincoln Tunnel is closed. I'll be a bit late for work. It's supposed to end soon.

Thursday, December 24, 2009

My SIL Mimi and I have been very busy on a project and I've neglected my poor little blog. But I've been knitting away and I have so much to show you and tell you. But now we're pooped, the presents are all wrapped, the cooking is done, the house is pretty clean and we're going to bed. Merry Christmas to you all!

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Thursday, October 29, 2009

: existing or being everywhere at the same time : constantly encountered :widespread fashion

It's the February Lady sweater. There are 7,196 on Ravelry. I saw so many of them last year at Rhinebeck and a lot of them this year at Stitches East. Short sleeve, long sleeves, three quarter sleeves. Solid colors, multicolors. And they look good on everyone.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

My first Stitches. I went by myself on Friday morning and after checking in I just wandered around until my first class. I had Morphing Cables with Fiona Ellis and it was really fun. I learned so much about how cables move around.

On Saturday I had Lily Chin's all day class on Reversible Cables which was totally amazing. If you ever have a chance, take one of her classes!

I did spend a little time in the Marketplace. This is Stardust from Dream in Color Experimentals in Russet. I bought enough to make a sweater. It has little sparkles in it. (From Discontinued Yarns)

And this is from Lisa Souza whose yarn is more beautiful in person than it is online. It's a very generous 500 yards. I had a nice chat with Lisa who is hoping for a grandchild.

This is a beautiful merino/cashmere/nylon sock yarn from String Theory. I met the ladies from there at the hotel and their hand-dyed yarn is gorgeous.

And I dove into the big playpen of yarn from Woolstock Knit Shop and came up with a great sale on 8 skeins of Silky Wool.

I finally knit on the big sock and got a button to prove it.

It was a little odd going by myself but I was never really alone. I talked to lots of knitters in the classes, in the marketplace, at the hotel and on the buses. The hotel lobby was full of knitters all Saturday evening, such a nice thing. And some lovely ladies from The Knitter's Edge in Bethlehem, PA. invited me to dinner. (Thanks Amanda, Eileen and Joan!) Little Sister is in Bethlehem and I'll be checking out their store very soon. It was such a fun time and I'll be going back to Hartford again next year. Oh and Mr. Truck even admitted that he missed me.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Before going to Rhinebeck I made a list. I wanted fiber and a spindle. And a shawl pin. Never found the pin but I scored on the fiber. I was trying to pick wool that I hadn't spun yet. Which is pretty easy because I haven't spun much. This is Cormo from Briar Rose. Their yarn is to die for so I think this will be good.

The next two are Coopworth and Romney and N.C. Coopworth and Cotswold Lamb from Maple Row Stock Farm in Michigan.

This is a Finn-Dorset Cross from Fingerlakes Woolen Mill. I've spun Finn and it's really nice, soft like merino but a longer fiber.

And this a one pound bump of something that I really wanted at the time and now I can't find the receipt and I have no clue what it is but it's really soft. BFL maybe? I was really trying to be organized and rational. Anyone have any ideas?

Oh and a turkish delight spindle which I still can't work very well. Funny that the wheel is so much easier.

No time for more, I wanted to show you my sweater but I have to pack. I'm going to Stitches East on Friday and Saturday. I'm taking a class with Lily Chin and I'm shopping for yarn. If anyone's going to be there, look for me!

Sunday, October 18, 2009

I was all ready for rain and snow. They'd been forecasting it for a couple of days. I had my galoshes ready although Mr. Truck said he wouldn't walk next to me if I wore them. We had two umbrellas in the car because it was pouring at home, but it never rained at Rhinebeck.

We got there just in time for the Ravelry meet up. We saw Bob and Jess and lots of others. (We really think it was Ysolda under the knitted dog head, we heard Jess call her name.)

And we met up with the ladies I knit with on Saturday mornings. I wore my sweater but it was hidden by my coat. In fact, most people's sweaters were hidden by their coats. I saw lots of Ishbels, though and some really nice hats and two owls. I really want to knit one of those.

These people were knitting on the world's largest sock. The waiting line was too long so I skipped it but I wonder who's going to turn that heel.

We saw spindles and fiber

and all sorts of spinning wheels, even an electric one.

And of course we saw sheep

and goats

and alpacas.

We stopped by the sheep herding dogs before we left. They are Mr. Truck's favorite part although they really make our dogs look not too bright.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

I bought this beautiful superwash merino rove called Mocha Java from Fiber Optic on etsy.

And I managed to spin it into this yarn. Which wasn't too bad, a bit thick and thin and more barber poled than I wanted. But it's yarn and I can knit with it. But there wasn't enough to make anything really big. So I searched and searched Ravelry and I found the perfect pattern.

Baktus. It uses any amount of yarn. You just increase until you've used half your yarn and then you decrease. Perfect for handspun of an undetermined amount.